Filing-cabinet drawer



Feb. 9 1926.

P. A. WETZEL FILING CABINET DRAWER will:

Filed April 5, 1923 Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PETER A. WETZEL, OI

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

FILING-CABINET DRAWER.

Application filed April 5, 1923. Serial No. 629,985.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PETER A. WETZEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of\Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Filing- Cabinet Drawers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to file drawers of the type in which the front is pivoted so that it will drop to provide access to one end of a stack of sheets or papers in the drawer. In this type of drawer, 1t is customary to form runners or ribs on the drawers which are adapted to travel in grooves in the cabinet.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved manner of attaching the runners to the drawers and a construction which is applicable to drawers made of metal or wood.

The invention consists in the several novel features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclu' sion hereof.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan of a drawer embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 3, but showing the runner adjacent the bottom of the drawer instead of the top. Fig. 5 is a vertical section showin the manner of applying t-he runners to t e bottom of a metal drawer. Fig. 6 is a vertical section, showing a runner applied to the top margin of a metal drawer.

The invention is exemplified in a wood drawer comprising abottom 6, back 7 and sides 8 which are rigidly secured together. A front 9 has secured thereto brackets 10 which are pivoted adjacent the lower margin of the outer faces of the drawer-sides 8 by screws 11 which pass through said brackets 10 and lugs 12, which are secured to the drawer-sides by screws 12'. Each bracket 10 may be formed with an out-turned flange 13 whlch is adapted to rest upon a subjacent drawer while it is held in the cabinet.

In drop-front file drawers, it is desirable to slidably support them so that no space is wasted between the drawers and, for this purpose, it has been customary to form runners projectin from the outer faces of the sides to exten into grooves in the sides or artitions of a file cabinet 16, as shown in ig. 3. According to the present invention,

which is forme these runners are as arately formed from the drawersand of s]? may be readil secured to the drawers. The runners may e cut from continuous strips of metaL. In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the strip of metal forming it is shaped to provide an outer side 17, a bottom 18, a top 19, a flange 20 abutting against the outer face of the drawer-side and secured thereto by screws 21, and an extension 22 of the top-wall 19 lap mg the upper edge of the drawer side an secured thereto by screws 23. A characteristic of a drawer with a runner thus formed is that the runners are metallic and can be formed of shaped continuous strips of sheet metal, so they can be produced at a low cost.

In Fig. 4, the runner is shown as applied tothe'lower margin of the side of a woodchamber to illustrate its manner. of application where it is desired that the runner shall be disposed adjacent the bottom of the drawer. In this form, the portion 22 la s the bottom of the drawer instead of t 0 top, and the flange 20 extends above the runner.

In Fig. 5, the runner is illustrated as applied to a drawer 24 which is formed of sheet metal and, in lieu of securmg the flanges 20 and portions 22 to the drawer by screws, they are spot-welded to the drawerbottom an sides respectively.

In Fig. 6, the runner is illustrated as applied to the up r portion of a drawer 24 wardly extending top flange 25. In this form of the invention, the flange 25 extends under the runner top 19 and the flange 20 is spotwelded to the sides of the drawer.

The invention exemplifies a drop-front file drawer with runners which are separately formed from the bodies of the drawers; are adapted to be readily secured thereto, either to the upper or lower mar ins of the drawer sides, and may be produce at a. low cost.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and sco e of the invention.

Having thus descri ed the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: v I 1. The combination in a filing cabinet eet metal so that they I of sheet metal with an outdrawer of a bottom, back. and'sides, a drop front piyoted to the sides, and sheet metal strips sdparately formed from the drawer and forming runners to slide in grooves in a cabinetfsaid strips comprisin upper and lower wallsprojecting outwarfiy from the outer faces of the drawer sides, vertically extending connecting portions between the outer ends of said walls, and integral means lapping the drawer and secured thereto.

2. The combination, in a filing cabinet drawer, of a bottom, back and sides, a drop front pivoted to the sides, and sheet metal strips separately formedfrom the drawer and forming runners to slide in grooves in a cabinet, said strips comprising upper and lower walls, substantially horizontal, spaced apart and projecting outwardly from the outer faces of the drawer sides, vertically extending connecting portions :between the outer ends of said walls, and integral means on the strips lapping horizontal surfaces of the drawer side and lapping the outer faces of the drawer sides.

, 3, The combination in a filing cabinet strips separately formed from the drawer and forming runners to slide in grooves in a cabinet, said strips comprisin upper and lower horizontal walls, space apart and pro ectmg outwardly from the outer faces of the drawer sides, vertically extending connecting portions between the outer ends of sa1d walls, and flanges integral with the inner ends of said wall and lapping and secured to the outer faces of the drawer sldes. v

4. The combination ,in a filing cabinet drawer of a bottom, back and sides, a drop front pivoted to the sides, and sheet metal 7 strips separately formed from the drawer and forming runners to slide in grooves in a cabinet, said strips comprising upper and lower walls spaced apart, projecting outwardly and horizontally from the outerfaces of the drawer sides, verticallyextending portions between the outer ends of said walls, flanges to lap a horizontal surface of the drawer side and flanges to lap the outer faces of the drawer sides.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 26th of January, 1923.

v p PETER A. WETZEL. 

